The Church: Paradox and Mystery
Feb 2022 · Ignatius Press
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The Church: a body so diverse, so manifold, often so divided, that one struggles to define her, to see her face. "If I seek a glimpse of her, where will I find her?" asks theologian Henri de Lubac, S.J.
In these reflections written at the end of Vatican II, de Lubac,who played a key role at the Council yet was leery of rapid reform, searches out the wrinkled, mysterious beauty of the Church he loves as his mother.
The Catholic Church is such a paradox, a unity of opposites, that many are scandalized, a fact from which de Lubac does not shrink: "I am told that she is holy, yet I see her full of sinners.... I am assured that she is universal, ... yet so often I note that her members, as if by fate, huddle timidly together in closed enclaves, just like human beings everywhere." But her distinctive beauty, when he beholds it, leaves him floored, "this beauty most rare, most improbable, most disconcerting ... not the complete achievement of human perfection, ... but a strange and supernatural beauty opening unknown vistas to me."
These seven brief studies on the mystery of Christ's Church illuminate the documents of Vatican II and offer nourishment and clarity to those confused by turbulence or hypocrisy among Christians. De Lubac, who was made a Cardinal by Pope John Paul II before his death in 1991, reflects deeply on the nature of authentic holiness in the modern world and argues that sainthood is not only possible but already - through the work of the Holy Spirit - quite alive amidst all the storms, whether in his time or in ours.
In these reflections written at the end of Vatican II, de Lubac,who played a key role at the Council yet was leery of rapid reform, searches out the wrinkled, mysterious beauty of the Church he loves as his mother.
The Catholic Church is such a paradox, a unity of opposites, that many are scandalized, a fact from which de Lubac does not shrink: "I am told that she is holy, yet I see her full of sinners.... I am assured that she is universal, ... yet so often I note that her members, as if by fate, huddle timidly together in closed enclaves, just like human beings everywhere." But her distinctive beauty, when he beholds it, leaves him floored, "this beauty most rare, most improbable, most disconcerting ... not the complete achievement of human perfection, ... but a strange and supernatural beauty opening unknown vistas to me."
These seven brief studies on the mystery of Christ's Church illuminate the documents of Vatican II and offer nourishment and clarity to those confused by turbulence or hypocrisy among Christians. De Lubac, who was made a Cardinal by Pope John Paul II before his death in 1991, reflects deeply on the nature of authentic holiness in the modern world and argues that sainthood is not only possible but already - through the work of the Holy Spirit - quite alive amidst all the storms, whether in his time or in ours.
The Church: a body so diverse, so manifold, often so divided, that one struggles to define her, to see her face. "If I seek a glimpse of her, where will I find her?" asks theologian Henri de Lubac, S.J.
In these reflections written at the end of Vatican II, de Lubac,who played a key role at the C...
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About the author
Henri de Lubac, S. J., was considered as one of the most important theologians of the twentieth century. Together with the works of other towering modern theologians (and friends) Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) and Hans Urs von Balthasar, the writings of de Lubac stand out as crucial to twentieth-century Catholicism. Among his other famous books are Catholicism: Christ and the Common Destiny of Man, The Splendor of the Church, The Christian Faith, The Drama of Atheist Humanism, and The Motherhood of the Church.
Henri de Lubac, S. J., was considered as one of the most important theologians of the twentieth century. Together with the works of other towering modern theologians (and friends) Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) and Hans Urs von Balthasar, the writings of de Lubac stand out as crucial to twe...
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